


End of the World

by annella



Category: Supernatural RPF
Genre: AU, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2010-04-10
Updated: 2010-04-10
Packaged: 2017-10-08 20:17:02
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 18,551
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/79127
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/annella/pseuds/annella
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>It's been almost twenty years since Jared and Jensen were in a relationship.  Now, with the Remasking Act allowing Supers to once again don their masks, Jared and Jensen find themselves back together again.  But the realities of being a Super, as well as a new Super-villain trying to destroy the world, threaten to drive them apart once more.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

  
  
  
**Entry tags:** |  [fic](http://annella.livejournal.com/tag/fic)  
---|---  
  
_**Fic: End of the World**_  
**Title:** End of the World  
**Pairing:** Jared/Jensen  
**Rating:** NC-17  
**Wordcount:** ~18,000  
**Summary:** It's been almost twenty years since Jared and Jensen were in a relationship. Now, with the Remasking Act allowing Supers to once again don their masks, Jared and Jensen find themselves back together again. But the realities of being a Super, as well as a new Super-villain trying to destroy the world, threaten to drive them apart once more.  
**A/N:** This is an AU set in the world of _The Incredibles_.

This is a gift for [](http://scintilla10.livejournal.com/profile)[**scintilla10**](http://scintilla10.livejournal.com/) in the [](http://community.livejournal.com/spn_j2_xmas/profile)[**spn_j2_xmas**](http://community.livejournal.com/spn_j2_xmas/) exchange. [](http://scintilla10.livejournal.com/profile)[**scintilla10**](http://scintilla10.livejournal.com/) said she enjoyed crazy AU settings, and I also managed to work in parts of several of her prompts, including Aldis as a matchmaker, estranged ex-lovers, and a wee bit of dating!fic.

Thank you to the large team of people who helped me out: [](http://clex-monkie89.livejournal.com/profile)[**clex_monkie89**](http://clex-monkie89.livejournal.com/), [](http://eireinn.livejournal.com/profile)[**eireinn**](http://eireinn.livejournal.com/), [](http://pennyplainknits.livejournal.com/profile)[**pennyplainknits**](http://pennyplainknits.livejournal.com/), [](http://beyondcrazy4you.livejournal.com/profile)[**beyondcrazy4you**](http://beyondcrazy4you.livejournal.com/), [](http://itskaylie.livejournal.com/profile)[**itskaylie**](http://itskaylie.livejournal.com/), [](http://users.livejournal.com/_mournthewicked/profile)[**_mournthewicked**](http://users.livejournal.com/_mournthewicked/), and everyone on Twitter who answered my crazy-sounding random questions! ♥♥♥♥  
**Warnings:** Group sex between Jared and Jensen (it'll make sense when you get there).

***

It isn't until after the passing of the Remasking Act that Aldis finds a use for his powers that doesn't result in death, mayhem, and large psychiatrist bills. Being able to catch glimpses of the future is no fun when you work in a hospital, so when the Supers are officially allowed to don their masks again, Aldis can finally realize his dream as a paid matchmaker for Supers.

It's a simple concept, really. Supers have trouble dating and, despite the Remasking Act, Super advocates are still having trouble with the passing of the Super Powers Rights Act of 2029 because of the amount of Superphobia still around. Hence, SuperMatch: where Supers and people who can handle being in a relationship with someone who can leap tall buildings with a single bound can sign up and be matched to the perfect partner.

It really helps the match-making process when all Aldis has to do is look at two profiles side by side to get an accurate idea of whether or not things will work out between them. His agency boasts a 99% success rate, and there's now a waiting list. Aldis only has so much time, and he can't employ staff to help with the match-making. Pre-cognition coupled with time manipulation, now _that_ would be a great combination in this job. Or duplication, Aldis would be happy with that. He glares at the profile which has just popped up in his inbox—the guy can not only manipulate weather and regenerate from any kind of physical harm, he can also duplicate himself up to five times. Aldis glances at the 957 unread profiles on his computer and sighs. He sometimes feels a bit shortchanged in the superpower department.

No use complaining over what genetics gave him, though. Aldis looks at the new profile again and frowns. The guy looks familiar, and those powers sound familiar too. Unfortunately, one of the downsides of his pre-cognition is a near-crippling inability to match images to memories. Apparently if you can see into the future, you're penalized by not being able to see into the past. It gets really awkward at reunion parties when Aldis forgets the name of someone who claims to have dated him for six months. The name of this guy rings a bell too, and Aldis glares at the screen for a good ten minutes—hoping his pre-cognition will kick in and maybe tell him who the guy is—before he gives up and pulls out his data pad.

Aldis had learned a long time ago that the only way he could deal with the side effect of his pre-cognition was to keep very meticulous records. Whenever he meets someone new, he takes a photo of them and adds it to his database, along with as many details about them as he can. He types in 'Jared' and waits while the device compiles a list of every Jared Aldis has ever met. There aren't many, and only one of them is a Super. Aldis pulls up the file and is surprised to see the word DECEASED at the top.

"Huh," he says aloud before continuing to re-acquaint himself with the young man he first met almost twenty years ago, and who is apparently still very much alive. When he's finished, he stares at his computer screen for a few moments, a frown on his face, before finding a picture of someone else to put alongside Jared. He takes a deep breath and lets his mind go blank.

"No," Jensen says bluntly. "Never."

"Oh, come on," Aldis wheedles. "You know I'm a genius at this shit!"

"I swear to _God_, Aldis," Jensen says, swiping a cloth over the surface of the bar. It's already so clean that Jensen can almost see his face in it, but he needs something in his hands to stop himself from doing something stupid to his friend.

"Why you gotta be such a killjoy, man?"

"I can find my own dates!"

"Yeah, you can, but you _don't_."

Jensen takes a deep breath and throws the cloth down. He glares at it for a moment and it twitches, then flies across the room and starts wiping down tables.

"Come on! Let Mr Match work his magic!" Aldis grins at him, and Jensen groans.

"'Mr Match'? Lame, man."

Aldis shrugs. "It's appropriate, _Rattlesnake_."

Jensen laughs. "I was young. I had an excuse. Besides, I don't have a lame-ass superhero name anymore."

"Yeah, yeah, whatever." Aldis waves a hand dismissively. "So you gonna let me make you happy? I'll even give you a discount on my fee."

"Thanks ever so much," Jensen says sarcastically. "You're not gonna let up, are you?"

"Nope." Aldis grins even wider.

"Fine. One date. Just one, okay? If it doesn't work out, I ain't trying again."

"Yeah!" Aldis does a victorious fist-pump, and Jensen sighs. He's gonna regret this, he just knows it.

The best thing about the Remasking Act, Jared thinks, is that now he can combine his superpowers with his love of teaching very small children. It does mean wearing spandex and a mask to work, but his newly-designed costume is a lot more comfortable and flattering than his old one, and has the added bonus of being able to accommodate him when he needs to multi-task. Also, it's completely different to the one he wore when he was Hurricane, so no one who knew Hurricane will ever recognise him in his new guise as Mr. Xerox. He sometimes has to deal with parents who are scared that he'll try to do something Super to their children, but the principal is seriously awesome about it all—whenever Jared sends a parent to her office, they always come out smiling and willing to let Jared teach their child.

There's also the fact that the ability to split into five separate Jareds is invaluable for a teacher of small children. Jared doesn't mention that he is also the one who makes sure the weather is always sunny when it's break time. There's nothing worse than having to keep kids indoors because of the rain. Some of his colleagues look at him askance when a rainy day miraculously clears up just before recess, but he never admits his role.

Hurricane was a long time ago, and Jared wants to start anew.

Chad is cooking dinner when he gets home, and Jared absently waves at him before heading to his room to take his spandex off. He splits into two Jareds and sends one to help Chad with dinner while he goes to flop down on the couch and turn the TV on. It had taken a lot of practice, but now Jared can be fully functional and concentrating even when he's split himself into five. The only downside is that if he's not wearing his Super costume, all but one of his bodies ends up naked, and he's taken to always carrying a spare set of clothes in case he needs to be in two places at once and doesn't have his costume.

"Oh, hey," Chad says as he's stirring the sauce, "some guy called, wants you to get back to him. Left his number. Said his name was Match?"

Jared manages not to drop the knife he's holding. "Thanks," he says casually, and splits another Jared off from the one in the living room to go call the guy back. Chad's told him over and over that if he has to see Jared's naked ass ever again, he'll do something drastic. Since Jared's ability to regenerate physical harm is ridiculously overpowered, he's pretty sure that Chad will just attempt to mentally scar him instead, which is something Jared wants to avoid at all costs. The newly-split (and naked) Jared darts into his room before Chad can notice, and he dials the number the Jared in the kitchen reads off the note pad next to the phone.

He'd been a little wary of putting himself back on the dating scene, but it's been over a year since he and Sandy broke up, and besides, she had been the one who suggested Mr. Match to Jared. He's done his research thoroughly—no one knows who Mr. Match really is, but Jared assumes the guy must have to be a Super, because his rate of success is legendary. Jared honestly hadn't been expecting to hear back from him so soon—rumor has it there's a massive waiting list for Mr. Match's services.

His hands shake a little as he dials. A smooth, deep voice answers on the fourth ring.

"Hello?"

"Is, uh." Jared clears his throat. "Is that Mr. Match?"

There's a pause. "Who's asking?" The voice sounds suspicious, and Jared frowns.

"Jared. Padalecki. You, uh, left a message for me to call?"

"Oh, hey, Jared!" the guy says, his entire tone changing. "Sorry 'bout that, I don't usually give my home number to clients. Yeah, this is Mr. Match."

"Shit, sorry," Jared says, suddenly feeling bad for calling the guy at home, even though he'd been given his home number.

"Nah, 's fine," Mr. Match says breezily. "Hey, I called because I think I mighta found you someone."

Jared blinks. "So quickly? I just applied yesterday! I thought there was a huge waiting time!"

"Some people are easy to match, they kinda jump out at you," Mr. Match says, sounding evasive. "Now, you said you'd rather date another Super—"

"Yeah, I, uh, I hope that's okay," Jared interrupts. "I mean, I got nothing against non-Supers, but I'd like to try dating someone who isn't gonna flinch when I accidentally cut a finger off and just stick it back on, y'know?" He shudders a little; that exact thing had happened with Sandy, and even though she'd known he could do that, it had still shaken her. It hadn't helped that Jared's complete lack of a self-protective instinct meant that cutting his finger off was the least traumatic injury he had suffered in front of her. For a Super, Jared's a bit of a klutz.

Mr. Match chuckles. "Yeah, I understand. And you also said you didn't mind about gender, is that still true?"

"That's right," Jared replies. It's been almost twenty years since he dated a man, and even though thinking back on that time gives him a painful twinge in his belly, he doesn't want that to affect his current happiness.

"Great! Okay, I've matched you up with a guy called, uh, The Force."

"'The Force'? What's his real name?"

"Client confidentiality. You okay with dating someone as Mr. Xerox? Y'all are free to tell each other your real names once you've met, but until then, stick to your alter-ego name. Them's the rules. And don't worry about background checks; I got that covered."

Jared pauses. This is suddenly a little weird. "I guess that's okay," he says a little doubtfully. He suddenly regrets calling himself Mr. Xerox; it seems so lame. He wonders what The Force can do to have earned himself that particular moniker.

"Great!" Mr. Match says enthusiastically. "I'll set it all up for you, let you know when and where you guys are meeting. Email me if you got any questions, okay?"

"Sure," Jared says. "Uh, thanks."

"'Mr. Xerox'," Jensen says disbelievingly. "'Mr. _Xerox_."

"I told him you were called 'The Force'," Aldis says with what Jensen considers to be an inappropriate level of smugness. Everyone at the table laughs, and Jensen feels a strong urge to strangle them all with their napkins.

"This is the worst idea _ever_," Jensen says morosely.

"What can he do?" Danneel asks. "I'm thinking something to do with duplication."

"Yeah, he can split himself into five different bodies," Aldis says. "Man, I'd _kill_ to have that ability."

There's a pause while they all ponder it, and Danneel lets out out a breath. "Every single one of you just thought about sex. At the same time. Phew. That was _awesome_." She fans herself, her face flushed, and Jensen can't deny that he'd just been considering the ramifications of a partner who could be in five places at once. From the looks on the faces of Aldis, Sophia, Gen and Misha, they'd all been thinking exactly the same thing as him.

"You read my mind again, I'll make you dance on the table," Misha says, pointing a knife warningly at Danneel. "_Naked_."

"It's hard not to when you all suddenly shout at me," Danneel says defensively. "It's not like I was trying. Y'all know me better than that."

"But you don't have to tell us," Jensen points out. "Personally, I'd rather not know when I'm accidentally shouting things I don't want people knowing."

"Oh, hon," Danneel says, patting his hand, "if I mentioned even a _fraction_ of the things I had yelled at me, I'd be a billionaire from selling all the gossip."

"Sure," Jensen says, and rolls his eyes. "So, Mr. Match, when do I get to meet Mr. Xerox? And am I allowed to know anything about him?"

Aldis grins at him. "I'm gonna set it up for you. I'll let you know tomorrow. And I guarantee you're gonna like him."

"Great," Jensen mutters. "Back in a moment, gotta take a leak." He can't be too angry with Aldis, he decides as he stands in front of the urinal. It's not like Jensen has to go out with this guy more than once if there's no chemistry. Besides, it might turn out well. He finishes up and washes his hands, examining his face in the mirror as he does so. More grey hair at the temples, a few more crow's feet beside the eyes, but at least he's not going bald. When he gets back to the table, the group hushes up quickly, and he frowns.

"What?" he asks. Danneel is glaring at Aldis, who looks guilty. Everyone else looks worried.

"Nothing," Aldis says quickly.

"Yeah," Danneel says tightly, "it's nothing. Aldis is just being a _dick_."

"Is that strange?" Jensen asks, and everyone laughs briefly, breaking the tension.

"This is going to go _very_ badly for you!" Danneel says to Aldis later. He'd been hoping she wouldn't find out what he was up to until after the fact, but apparently he still hasn't learned to keep his thoughts quiet when he's around her.

"How can it go badly?" he asks. "I _saw_ how happy they're gonna be, okay? My pre-cog never lies!"

"You don't know the full story of why they broke up, do you?" Danneel asks shrewdly, and Aldis shrugs.

"I know Jensen acted like a douche," he says.

"It's a shame you can't look into the past as well as the future," she replies. "Jared was a douche as well. Neither of them came out smelling of roses."

"Jensen thinks Jared is dead," Aldis says. "_Dead_."

"I know! It's only been a few years since Mr. Incredible and his family disposed of Syndrome, I remember when they finally stopped looking for Jared's body."

Aldis leans back on his couch. "So what's your _real_ problem, here?" he asks. "The way I see it, Jensen finds out that Jared is alive, he's happy, they get a chance to work things out, and if they don't?" He shrugs. "Then at least they might get a chance to clear up a twenty-year-old falling out."

"I know," Danneel says quietly. She runs a hand through her hair and bites her lip, thinking for a moment. "I just don't want to see Jensen get hurt again."

"It'll be worth it in the end," Aldis promises. "Trust me."

Jared's getting ready for his date and watching the news at the same time. He stands in front of the mirror in the bathroom, making a vain attempt at taming his hair, while another Jared sits on the couch and watches television. He often leaves one Jared on the couch, watching television—that way, Jared never has to bother TiVo'ing anything. He rotates them around frequently so the Jared on the couch doesn't get bored, and the system has been working well for quite some time now.

"Whoa," Jared mutters to himself when a news report about a string of bank robberies comes on. Apparently, the perpetrator is able to walk through walls, which would explain why he or she hasn't been caught yet. Jared frowns; he used to know someone who could do that, but there's no way the Sophia he knew would ever rob banks. He figures it must be someone hankering to be a Super-villain, and makes a mental note to take a look into it at some point.

_"The perpetrator was caught on camera,"_ the reporter is saying. _"Although the cameras were not able to obtain a full image, she has been described as a slim woman, long brown hair, approximately five feet four inches tall, wearing a red knee-length cocktail dress and white loafers."_

Jared frowns. "White loafers?" he says to himself. That's the strangest thing of all—Sophia wouldn't have been caught dead in white loafers. "Chad!" he yells. "Come see this!"

"What? What?" Chad asks grumpily, poking his head around the door to the living room.

"Sophia robbed a bank," Jared says, pointing to the television.

"No way," Chad scoffs, flopping down on the sofa. "I mean, I haven't seen her for years, but she'd never rob a bank." The television shows a close-up of the perpetrator, the face still unclear, and Chad frowns. "Yeah, that's not her. She'd never wear loafers."

"That's what I thought," Jared says. "But they said she walked through the walls into the vault."

"Weird," Chad says. "But not my problem anymore." He grabs the remote off of Jared's leg and flips the channel over to sports.

"Hmm." Jared in the bathroom purses his lips and frowns at his reflection. He feels like he should check it out, but he's got a date. The mysterious case of Sophia Bush robbing banks can wait until tomorrow. He finally finishes taming his hair into some semblance of normalcy, glares at the rapidly-expanding grey streaks, and goes to find his jacket.

The place Aldis sent Jensen to is a small, quiet restaurant away from the main streets of the city. It's tucked into the corner of an alleyway, and Jensen's never heard of it before. The small sign outside is easy to look past, and the interior is dimly-lit and cozy.

"Good evening, sir," the waitress at the counter says politely. "Do you have a reservation?"

"Uh," Jensen says. "My friend made it. Aldis?"

"Oh, Aldis!" the woman says, her face lighting up. "How is he?" She picks up two menus and leads Jensen over to a booth in the corner.

"Um, he's good," Jensen says, realizing that this must be where Aldis sends all the people he's set up.

"Tell him Mandy says hi," the waitress says. "I'll send your date over when he or she arrives, okay?"

"Thanks," Jensen mumbles, feeling more and more ridiculous by the moment. Not only is he here on a blind date, but the waitress _knows_ he is here on a blind date. He stares at his menu for a while, determined not to keep glancing anxiously at the door, and jumps when someone suddenly slides into the booth opposite him.

"Hi, I'm—" the guy starts, then stops, his mouth falling open as he stares at Jensen. Jensen's similarly dumb-struck, his mind suddenly catapulting him back to almost twenty years ago.

_"I can't do this," Jared said, his face creased up in sadness._

"What, you can't be fucked even trying_?" Jensen spat out. "Relationships aren't easy, you gotta work on them."_

"I know," Jared replied. "But, Jen—it's too much. I need to sort my life out. I only realized I was a Super a couple of years ago, and now we're not allowed to be heroes anymore? I have to try to find who I am."

"That's a terrible excuse," Jensen sneered. He knew he was hurting Jared, but he couldn't help it. "Don't bother coming back when you're sorted."

Jared's face crumpled up, and Jensen left without another word.

"You're alive," Jensen blurts out. He can still remember, clearly, the devastation he felt when word had spread about the death toll exacted by Syndrome in his quest to become a Super—Jared's name had been on the list of missing, presumed dead.

Jared blinks at him, open-mouthed. "I—oh God."

"You _faked your own death_?" Jensen asks, unable to fully process what's going on here.

"Not really," Jared hedges, running a hand through his hair. It's still as shaggy and untamed as ever, but now there are streaks of grey at the temples, and Jensen's treacherous subconscious informs him that it just makes Jared more gorgeous.

It's difficult to be angry with your ex-lover for faking his death when all you can think about is how good he looks twenty years on.

"So... what was it, then?"

Jared sighs, looking down at his hands. "I didn't plan it, okay? It was just that after all the lawsuits and everything, I really didn't want to get back into the hero business. Then when all that shit with Syndrome was going down, with all the Supers being killed, I figured that maybe it would be best if Hurricane just vanished, y'know? Let me start again."

"But what about all the people who you knew?" Jensen asks, bitterness lacing his tone. He can't help it—he's spent the past year thinking that someone he loved is dead.

"I didn't know many people," Jared points out. "My family, a couple of close friends. And it's not like I made the whole thing up—I almost _did_ die. You know how I can regenerate?"

"Yeah?"

"I was burned to a crisp. There wasn't anything left of me except a few bones and scraps of flesh." Jared's face turns pale, his eyes wide with remembered pain. "Regenerating that... it took weeks. And I was in agony the entire time. I _wanted_ to die, but I couldn't."

"Shit," Jensen breathes. Before he can stop himself, he's reaching across the table to grasp Jared's hand. "I never—I mean, I thought there were limits."

"So did I," Jared says grimly. "And I don't ever want to have them tested again." He sighs loudly, looking away with a frown on his face. "Look, I'm sorry I never contacted you. I thought about it, but the longer I left it, the harder it got. I guess... I guess I figured that you wouldn't want to see me again, especially after how we left things. We hadn't even spoken in years."

"I know," Jensen concedes. "I—I'm sorry too. That I never bothered contacting you. Like you said—I thought I'd left it too long." He stares at Jared for a few moments, reacquainting himself with his features—the upturned nose, the dimples, the slanted eyes. Jared stares back, a crooked smile on his face, and Jensen smiles at him, feeling like a teenager again. When Jared's thumb strokes across his palm, Jensen's stomach swoops.

"Was I right or was I _right_?" Aldis crows when he calls Jensen the next morning.

"I hate you," Jensen says.

"Nah, man, you love me," Aldis replies, and Jensen can hear the glee in his voice. "Was it good? Tell me how good it was."

Jensen rubs his face. "Okay, fine. It was good. But I seriously hate you for not telling me it was _Jared_."

"Would you have gone if I'd told you?" Aldis asks reasonably. Jensen grunts, and he continues. "See? I _know_ you, man."

Jensen hangs up and rolls onto his back, groaning.

"Who was that?" Jared asks, his voice rough with sleep. Jensen turns to look at him and grins, his irritation with Aldis melting away in the face of Jared's bedhead.

"I can't believe you have the same hairstyle now that you did twenty years ago," Jensen says fondly, reaching up to ruffle Jared's hair. Jared squawks indignantly but lets him, and Jensen uses it as an excuse to pull Jared in for a kiss.

"Eugh," Jared says after a few moments. "Dude, you taste rank."

Jensen runs his tongue around his mouth and nods. "Not even superpowers can get rid of morning breath," he notes. He can't be bothered getting out of bed just yet, so he reaches out with his mind to grab his toothpaste from the bathroom and bring it back. "Here," he says, passing it to Jared after he's squeezed a little onto his finger, "swish that around."

"That is the best power _ever_," Jared says around a mouthful of toothpaste. He grabs the water bottle Jensen keeps by the side of the bed and takes a gulp, then passes it to Jensen.

"I know," Jensen says smugly. "You know how often I have to get up to get the remote after I've sat down to watch TV? _Never_."

Jared rolls onto his stomach, the sheets falling down to expose his well-muscled back. Jensen stares openly, thinking about how the years haven't aged Jared so much as improved him, refining his good looks and solid muscle to a perfect finish. The streaks of grey in his hair and the small wrinkles beside his eyes just add to his beauty.

"I just send one of my clones to do it for me," he says.

"Don't they mind?"

"Why?" Jared asks, looking confused. "They're all _me_."

"God, that must get so confusing sometimes," Jensen says. He slides down the bed and spreads himself out so an arm and a leg are stretched over Jared's warm body. "How do you not tie yourself in knots?"

"Took a lot of practice," Jared concedes. He shifts slightly, his hip pressed against Jensen's morning wood, and Jensen sighs softly, moving closer to rub against him. He forgets what they're talking about; Jared's warm and naked in bed next to him, and he has a pleasant ache in his ass from the sex they'd had the previous evening. He wonders for a brief moment whether sleeping with someone on the first date after a downtime of twenty years is a bad idea, but then Jared turns his head to kiss him and he loses that train of thought as well.

"Been a while?" Jared asks, pushing Jensen away and rolling onto his back. Jensen moves closer, letting Jared's arm fall around his shoulders as they kiss slowly.

"Couple of years," he admits between kisses. Jared hums softly and starts kissing his neck; soft, wet kisses which make Jensen's skin tingle. He slips a leg between Jared's, enjoying the feel of his hard cock pressed against his thigh. He feels likes the past twenty years never happened; like he and Jared are just picking up where they left off. Jared's skin is smooth and warm, and he moans softly when Jensen runs his hand up his side to grasp his face as they kiss.

Jensen wasn't kidding; it _has_ been a few years since he dated anyone. He'd forgotten what it is like to have lazy mornings in bed with someone, to wake up and roll into their arms and have sex twice before even getting up. He kind of hates the fact that he's going to have to get up and go to the bathroom within the next few minutes, but when Jared pulls away and says, "Man, if I don't take a leak soon terrible things are going to happen," he just laughs.

"Can't you send a clone to do it?" he asks.

"Yeah, I was going to," Jared replies. "I just didn't want you to freak out when part of me splits off and turns into another me."

"Honestly, I'm intrigued," Jensen says. He isn't sure what he's expecting—some kind of mitosis, perhaps, with Jared splitting down the middle and the two halves forming into complete Jareds. It's even stranger than that, though: Jared frowns, his face twisted up in concentration, and there's a shimmering in the air for a few seconds before a fully-formed Jared appears at the foot of the bed.

"Not what you expected, huh?" the new Jared says, looking a little sheepish. "Most people think I'm gonna split in two, or something."

"Yeah," Jensen says slowly, still surprised by the whole thing, "I was kinda expecting something like that. Are you always naked when you do that?"

"Unless I'm wearing my costume," the original Jared says while the new one vanishes into the bathroom.

"This is insane," Jensen says. "How do you put yourself back together? How far apart can you be? What's the limit on this sort of thing? Can you—"

"Whoa," Jared interrupts, laughing. "All in good time, okay?" The new Jared comes back from the bathroom and sits on the bed next to Jared. They stare at each other for a couple of seconds, then the second Jared shimmers and vanishes just as quickly as he had appeared. "That's how I put myself back together."

"So are you the main Jared, and all the other ones are secondary?" Jensen asks.

"We're all the main Jared," Jared says. "It doesn't matter which one you're talking to, every single one is completely me."

"This is so fucked up," Jensen mutters, rubbing a hand over his face.

"Says the man who can use the Force," Jared points out, and Jensen laughs.

"I cannot believe Aldis gave me that name. That fucker is going _down_."

"I dunno," Jared says carefully. "I kinda like how I got to see you again."

Jensen nods, unwilling to give words to the warmth that spreads through his body. "Be right back," he says, heading off to the bathroom. When he gets back, Jared's on his back in the middle of the bed, sheets pushed down past his bellybutton.

"Hope you're not too old to get it up again," he says, and Jensen huffs.

"I'm not _that_ old!" he says, climbing onto the bed and straddling Jared's waist. He'd taken the opportunity to brush his teeth while he was in the bathroom, and from the taste of Jared's mouth, he's not the only one. He tries to work out how Jared's clone brushing his teeth translated to _this_ Jared having fresh minty breath, but it's just too weird for him. Instead, he concentrates on learning the shape of Jared's mouth, the feel of firm muscles under his skin, the hard heat of his cock pressing against Jensen's balls.

"You're still good at this," Jared says breathlessly after several minutes of deep, slow kisses. He takes hold of Jensen's hips, lifting him slightly and bucking his hips to get the blankets out of the way. The feel of heated skin on skin makes Jensen groan, and he can't help moving his hips to rub his cock against Jared's. He feels like a twenty year old again—for the first time since he actually _was_ twenty—and reaches down to rub their cocks together, making Jared gasp and thrust into his grip.

"You still sore from last night?" Jensen asks, and Jared chuckles.

"Regeneration, remember?" he says, and Jensen laughs.

"_Awesome_," he murmurs, sliding off Jared and manhandling him until he's on his hands and knees. Jared's right; there's no sign at all that they had spontaneous and rough sex with not quite enough lube the previous evening—Jensen doesn't think he's ever going to sit in his car again without getting stupidly horny—and he licks his fingers and slides them in with ease while summoning the lube and condoms from his bedside table.

"I want that power," Jared mumbles, his face buried in the pillow. Jensen admires the long line of his back and the curve of his ass, prepping him quickly before slipping on a condom and sliding in with a groan.

"Shut up," Jensen says, "you can split yourself _five ways_, control the weather, and heal anything." He watches his cock sliding in and out of the tight slickness of Jared's ass, and has to look away otherwise he'll come too quickly. Jared's groaning and writhing, and Jensen doesn't even have to move—he hangs onto Jared's hips and lets him fuck himself, body shifting back and forth as he gets himself off on Jensen's dick.

"Jesus," Jared hisses, his fingers tightly clenched on the pillow. Jensen grunts, pushes harder, forcing Jared's legs further apart and reaching around to grasp his cock. He finds Jared hard and straining, the tip of his cock slick with precome, and Jensen jerks him roughly as he fucks him.

It's almost over too quickly; even though they'd fucked in the car after dinner the night before, Jensen feels like a teenager again, unable to stop thinking about sex. Jared's body is tight and hot, and the sight of his muscles clenching and his ass taking Jensen's cock drives Jensen over the edge. He moans and comes, gripping Jared's hips tight enough to bruise any normal person, and the sensation of Jared's ass tightening around his cock as he comes as well, spurting over the bedcovers, wrings every last drop of come from Jensen.

They don't bother cleaning up beyond tying the condom up and tossing it towards the trash can. Jared pulls the covers up and drags Jensen in close, and they're asleep within minutes.

Jensen lives with a weird guy called Misha. He stares at Jared with a disconcertingly piercing gaze, and doesn't say anything.

"This is Misha," Jensen says. "Don't piss him off."

"Why not?" Jared asks, trying not to blink at the guy. Despite the freaky-ass staring, Misha's kind of puny. Jared could totally take him, especially if he was allowed to use his powers. He's still considering this when he suddenly finds himself climbing onto the table and dancing like a cheerleader. "The fuck?" he exclaims, and Jensen laughs until Jared's actually worried he's going to choke on something.

"Yeah, I could make you do worse," Misha says before walking away, leaving Jared in control of his own body.

"Does he do that to everyone he's just met?" Jared asks, getting off the table and trying to gather some of his lost dignity. Jensen's lips are twitching like he's trying desperately not to laugh again, and he nods.

"He likes people to be afraid of him."

"Noted," Jared mutters.

Jensen makes breakfast for them, and it's interesting to watch someone skilled in telekinesis at work in the kitchen. Utensils and ingredients fly around, pouring themselves into bowls and frying pans while Jensen sits at the table and watches, occasionally flicking a hand at something to correct it. There are eggs, hashbrowns, sausages and bacon frying, a loaf of fresh bread is slicing itself up and being toasted, the oranges are squeezing themselves, and the coffee machine is whirring away in the background. Jared has to admit that he's impressed; he's even more impressed when one of the pieces of toast slips off the top of the pile, falling to the floor, and Jensen demonstrates just how quickly he can move. He's across the kitchen before the bread has time to hit the floor, and before Jared can blink, the errant slice is back on the pile and Jensen's sitting across the table from him again.

It's seriously epic.

Jared isn't really paying attention to much that Jensen's saying; instead, he can't stop staring at him, re-learning his features and comparing him to the Jensen he used to know. This Jensen is more confident, more capable. He smiles more than the old Jensen did and seems happier with his place in the world. This Jensen talks. A _lot_.

"Do you still do Super work?" Jared blurts out. Jensen blinks at him a few times, looking nonplussed. "Um, sorry," Jared says quickly. "You don't have to—"

"I mostly gave it up," Jensen replies, waving away Jared's apology. "I mean, if I see someone in need of saving, like in traffic or something, I'm not gonna stand by and watch them die, but I don't go listening to police scanners anymore." He laughs shortly. "Although I can't imagine ever being that lame."

Jared blushes and looks at the ceiling, and Jensen laughs again. "Seriously?" he asks. "You still listen to police scanners?"

"Shut up!" Jared complains, laughing along with Jensen. "It's a hobby, okay? And I'm totally not back in the business, I just like to rescue people from burning buildings sometimes. It's not a full-time job or anything."

"Weirdo," Jensen mutters, passing Jared a mug of coffee. He sips at his own, rolling his eyes back blissfully, and Jared frowns.

"I thought you drank your coffee black," he says.

"Used to," Jensen agrees. "I kinda got the taste for milk over the years, though." Jared's slightly puzzled by this; Jensen had always hated milky coffee, and God forbid he ever put sugar in it. Jared raises his eyebrows but doesn't say a word when Jensen adds three spoonfuls of sugar to his mug. He shrugs it off, though—it's been twenty years, of course there are going to be things about Jensen that are different. Milky coffee is hopefully going to be the least of Jared's worries.

"We're going to kill you," Misha says conversationally the next time Aldis sees him.

"Okay," Aldis says agreeably because in all honesty, death threats from Misha aren't all that rare. Then he frowns. "Wait, _we_? Who's we?"

"Me, Danneel, Sophia, Gen. I think AJ and Travis might want in on it too, but only because I told them it would be fun."

"I'm offended!" Aldis says, sighing. "What did I ever do to—"

"You made Jensen the happiest man alive," Misha interrupts. "It's disgusting, and it's all your fault."

"Oh, please," Aldis says, rolling his eyes. "It's been three days."

"Three days of _Hell_," Misha says dramatically. "I'm the one who has to live with him and the newly rediscovered love of his life!"

"Shit, they're living together already?" Aldis asks, frowning. He hadn't seen that coming—which is stranger than it sounds.

"Not so much living together as Jared having not actually left yet," Misha explains.

"Not my problem," Aldis says, fighting a grin.

"You have a spare room, right?"

"Yeah, but—"

"I'm moving in."

Aldis sighs. He really should have had a more detailed look at the results of setting Jensen up with Jared.

"I should go home sometime," Jared says.

"Probably," Jensen agrees. They've had this conversation a few times over the past week, and it's always ended in sex and Jared staying another night. Misha's vanished—they woke up to a note saying 'gone to Aldis's' the other day and neither of them have seen him since. Jensen doesn't mind; it means Jared's habit of randomly breaking off naked clones to do boring things for him doesn't really matter. It's still a bit disconcerting to have Jared suddenly sit up, frown for a moment, and then have another Jared pop out of thin air to go and wash the dishes or shave, but Jensen's getting used to it. It might take a little longer to get used to watching the stubble on Jared's face disappear as his clone does the work for him in the bathroom.

"Fuck!" the Jared currently in the bathroom yelps, and the Jared in bed turns to frown at Jensen.

"What?" Jensen asks.

"I tripped over your clothes again," Jared says, shoving the covers back to examine a large graze on his leg. As they watch it, it slowly disappears until there's nothing left.

"Sorry," Jensen says, not entirely meaning it. He's old enough that he can be as messy as he wants and he's not planning on changing any time soon.

"You have telekenesis," Jared points out. "You could pick up around the room while you're watching TV."

"I know," Jensen admits. "That's, uh, that's why I don't."

Jared stares at him, looking confused, and Jensen tries to clarify. "I mean, it's easy, so I don't do it. You know?"

"So... you let the housework pile up because it's so _easy_?" Jared asks. "That's the stupidest excuse ever. I can't believe you actually used it."

Jensen shrugs. "I know, it makes no sense."

Jared just rolls his eyes, and the next time he's alone for a few minutes, Jensen guiltily picks a few things up off the floor and puts them away. Just enough so that Jared won't fall over. There's a difference between sticking to your values and refusing to accommodate someone. He flicks on the television while he waits for Jared to get back with dinner, and is watching the crime report when Jared arrives bearing Chinese takeout.

"Anything interesting?" Jared asks, putting the cartons down on the coffee table.

"Robbery," Jensen says, leaning over to see what Jared has brought. "Awesome, sweet and sour chicken." He grabs the carton and sits back on the couch, Jared next to him, and they spend the next few minutes listening to the reporter describe the perpetrator. It isn't until a police sketch is shown that Jensen reacts.

"That's Jim!" he blurts out, almost dropping his food.

"Jim?"

"Jim Beaver. Um, used to be The Amphibious Liberator."

"Oh, him," Jared says. "Yeah, awesome powers, but the name kinda ruined it for me."

"Anyway," Jensen says, ignoring Jared's comment, "I still see him occasionally. He's an accountant. No way he'd do this. He doesn't even _drink_."

"Weird," Jared says thoughtfully. "You know, this kinda reminds me of—the night we met up, I saw a news report showing someone who looked like Sophia Bush robbing a bank. I hadn't seen her for years, but Chad says it was definitely her. Except the shoes."

"Sophia?" Jensen's confused. "Small girl, brown hair, likes to drink tequila and laugh?"

"That's her," Jared says.

"What do you mean, except the shoes?" Every time Jensen's ever seen Sophia, she's always been wearing ridiculous shoes.

"White loafers," Jared says. "It's been a while since I saw her, but the Sophia I used to know wouldn't be caught dead in them."

"She never mentioned anything about this," Jensen says, baffled.

"Huh," Jared murmurs, and seems to forget about it.

Jensen's still wondering about it at work the next day, so when Sophia and Danneel come in for their usual lunchtime drink, he asks them about it.

"There was something," Sophia says, frowning. "The cops came to see me, asked me where I was on some night. I'd been working the night they asked about, and I didn't hear anything else about it."

Jim says much the same thing when Jensen calls—the cops had asked him a few questions, established that his alibi was airtight, and left him alone. It's strange enough that Jensen decides to have a look through the news reports from the previous few weeks to see if anything else like this has happened.

"Six times," he tells Jared later that evening.

"Six times what? Six? Thirty six," Jared replies. He yawns hugely and groans as he stretches. "Sorry. Long day at work." He looks more irritated than normal, and Jensen puts his folder down.

"You okay?" he asks.

"Yeah. I think. Just... Sam called me into her office and told me she's been dealing with more than the usual number of complaints about me being a Super. Apparently some people get worried that their kids are going to start jumping off roofs because they want to be Supers, or that they'll become villains. I hate how intolerant these people are. They're so _stupid_."

"I get where they're coming from," Jensen says, trying to be reasonable.

"God, please don't be reasonable. I just get so angry about this whole thing. I mean, Superpowers do not make a person evil! They might make an already evil person more powerful, and, y'know, someone who is weak-willed might be tempted to use their powers in an evil way, but the idea that Superpowers automatically mean a dangerous person is ridiculous. And it's a goddamned uphill battle trying to convince them otherwise."

"Sam's supportive, right?" Jensen asks.

"Yeah," Jared says, sighing. "But there's probably an upper limit to how many complaints she'll put up with before someone tries to do something more permanent."

"_Permanent_?"

"Like... accuse me of something I didn't do, just to create a media storm, and I'd have to resign even though I didn't do whatever they accused me of. That happened to a friend of mine. He ended up moving to Canada because the media wouldn't leave him alone. Just because he could levitate! They accused him of spying on people by lurking on ceilings. It was so _stupid_."

"And you're scared something like that will happen to you," Jensen says.

"It's not like I even have a power that could be used like that," Jared points out. "I can't turn invisible, I can't read people's minds, I can't see through walls. I can duplicate myself, but all that means is that there's more of me. And there's nothing threatening about a guy who just heals really fucking quickly."

"Sophia cops a lot of flack," Jensen says. "The whole walking-through-walls and x-ray vision thing freak a lot of people out. The only job she's been able to hold down is as an x-ray technician, and that's only because she saves them money on x-ray machines."

"Cool," Jared says, but it's half-hearted. Jensen sighs.

"Hey, I was looking into that thing with Jim on the news last night," he says, changing the subject to one less depressing.

"Yeah?"

"Check this out." He slides his folder over to Jared, who opens it up to find the printouts of news stories Jensen has found.

"What's this?" Jared asks, glancing through the pages. "Robberies... a couple of people kidnapped... what's going on?"

"These are all the crimes that have occurred over the past few weeks in which a Super or former Super was implicated. See, there's the security camera picture of Sophia, and the police sketch of Jim. And these other four—they're all Supers as well."

"Huh," Jared muses, picking up the report about a high-profile scientist who had been kidnapped just outside his office at the university. Jared doesn't recognise the woman in the picture, and he glances at Jensen, his eyebrows raised in query.

"Katie. I only know her by reputation—she can teleport."

"Oh, Blink!"

"Yeah," Jensen replies, trying not to smile. Superhero names are so _lame_. It sort of goes with the territory, though—along with spandex. Jensen shudders. He _really_ doesn't miss the spandex. "Anyway, the only things these crimes all have in common are that they were committed by Supers, and that all the suspects were wearing white shoes."

"White shoes?" Jared asks, baffled. He stares at the report on Katie again and frowns. "Wait. If she could teleport, how come she got snapped by the security cams? The ones at the university only take a photo every five seconds."

"Really?" Jensen takes the report back and looks closer. "No way Katie would get snapped by a security camera—she can be in and out in the blink of an eye. Hence, Blink."

"So why'd she hang around?"

"This is getting weird," Jensen says. "I think we need to ask the others."

Jared had wanted a team meeting like in _Watchmen_, with costumes and whiteboards (but without the Comedian setting fire to everything), but Jensen had just laughed at him.

"I don't _have_ a costume," he points out. "Most of us don't."

"You're no fun," Jared sighs.

"You _like_ wearing spandex?"

"Well, not really, but it's the whole image, y'know? A bunch of Supers getting together to find out what the threat is and how to counter it!" Jared's almost vibrating with excitement, and he can't deny he's somewhat disappointed that Jensen isn't getting into it the same way he is.

The meeting (which Jared still likes to call a conclave) is taking place at Jensen's bar. Jared's slightly nervous, because this is the first time he's meeting Jensen's other friends.

"You've already met the scariest one," Jensen points out, but this doesn't make Jared feel much better. He's pretty sure Misha doesn't like him—the guy had mind-controlled Jared into believing that he was scared of post-it notes, and even though it's almost completely worn off, Jared _still_ flinches whenever he sees a yellow square of paper.

It turns out that Jared really didn't need to worry about the others. Danneel and Sophia make fun of him for stealing their friend away, Aldis (who Jared realizes belatedly is actually Mr. Match) slaps him on the back and mutters something about maybe people leaving him alone now, and Gen reminds him so much of Sandy that he can't help but smile at her. Misha just stares at him with a slightly crooked smile, and Jared tries not to look back at him.

"So what's this all about, huh?" Aldis asks once everyone has a drink and is sitting down.

"Someone's imitating Supers and committing crimes," Jensen says bluntly.

"_What_?"

"It's true," Sophia confirms. "Whoever it is looked enough like me when they robbed a bank that the cops came asking me questions."

"And he—or she—has done it to Jim and Katie too." Jensen passes out the notes Jared has prepared ("You're scarily organized." "I'm a teacher! What did you expect?") and everyone glances over them.

"This is Gabe," Danneel says, pointing at a report about a guy Jared and Jensen hadn't been able to identify. "I used to work with him. He—he had laser eyes."

"Laser eyes?" Jared asks. That sounds kinda cool.

"Yeah, he could burn through things with his eyes. Or cook things. He was really useful at barbecues."

"Awesome," Jared mutters to himself. Thankfully, no one seems to hear him—these people are taking this quite seriously. Jared figures he probably should as well—he might be the next one to be impersonated.

"Anyone know who these last two are?" Jensen asks, and it only takes a few minutes to identify them as Charles, who can turn invisible and fly, and Lauren, who can manipulate anything technological.

"I think I might know who this is," Gen says quietly. She hasn't spoken yet, and everyone turns to look at her. She frowns at the notes in front of her for a moment before speaking again. "I met this guy, before the Supers were shut down. He was a bit weird. I never found out what happened to him.

"What could he do?" Aldis asks.

"He could look like _anyone_," Gen says. "And if he was imitating a Super, he could imitate some of their powers as well."

"Just some?" Danneel asks.

Gen's forehead creases up as she thinks. "I think so. Like, with Sophia—he could probably walk through walls but only really thin ones, and he probably couldn't see through everything, just wood. Or something."

"It'd explain why the camera caught him when he was wearing Katie's skin," Jensen says. "He could teleport, but couldn't do it as quickly."

"What was his name?" Misha asks.

"Mark. Can't remember his last name, but I think it started with a P." Gen shifts in her seat. "I could be wrong. He never seemed the super-villain type. But I only met him for maybe five minutes a really long time ago."

"So this guy can imitate anyone he wants to?" Jared asks. "He could pretend to be the President, and start wars!"

"Awesome," Aldis sighs. "So what do we do now?"

"We gotta make sure it's him," Jensen says. "If we have his name, we should be able to find him. Aldis—check your files. If you've ever met him, he'll be in there."

"On it," Aldis says, flipping open his data pad.

"And while you're on it, see if you can see anything in the future about this," Danneel suggests.

"Gimme a minute," Aldis mumbles, frowning at his data pad. "Mark. Mark. Let me see. Okay, there's a Mark P. in here. Apparently I met him not long before the Supers were forced to take their masks off. Says here that he was a bit weird, but only because he stared a little too hard and made you uncomfortable. Hell, Misha does that, and he's not a Super-villain."

"Wanna bet?" Jared says under his breath, and Jensen glances at him, sending a quick grin his way.

"I don't have a photo, unfortunately," Aldis says. "Uh. Talk amongst yourselves, I'm gonna take a look." He puts the data pad down and closes his eyes, frowning in concentration. Jared watches in awe—he's never seen someone look into the future before. Leaping tall buildings with a single bound is pretty cool, but this is _awesome_.

"Jensen, please tell your new pet to stop staring," Aldis says, and Jared jerks his gaze away, blushing. Everyone laughs, and Jared manages to join in after a few moments. If he hadn't learned to laugh at himself a long time ago, he would have had an even more miserable time growing up than he did.

It only takes a moment for Aldis to come back to himself. He opens his eyes, and for a moment, they're completely white. "Sorry," he says, sighing. "All I can see are flashes which don't mean a thing. That is, they probably do mean something, but I won't know what until it's too late."

"Does that happen much?" Jared asks, and Aldis shakes his head.

"Usually I can get something useful, but without a picture of this guy, I can't see much. I'll have a look in the database proper when I get back to my office—this thing has mostly just the bare essentials."

"Thanks for trying," Jensen says. "Let us know if you find anything, okay?"

There's a lull in the conversation, and it's during this lull that Jared clearly hears someone on the other side of the room say, "Fuckin' freaks. Wish they'd take their freak-ass powers and leave the fuckin' planet. I _told_ you they can't be trusted." He glances over to see a table full of men, all of them glaring in the direction of Jared's table.

"Fuckers," Misha mutters. "Can I make them think they're frogs?"

"No," Danneel says sharply. "You _know_ that only ends badly."

"Oh, c'mon!" Misha says. "It'd be _awesome_!"

"Just ignore them," Gen says quietly. "They only say it because they know that if we retaliate they can get us for unlawfully using our powers against non-villains."

Danneel turns to look at them, and when she turns back, she has a smile on her face. "They're all terrified, if that helps. And drunk. The one in the corner is nearly shitting himself."

"That almost makes up for it," Aldis says, chuckling. He makes a sudden movement out of his chair, towards the men, and they all jump back a little. Aldis laughs again and sits back down.

"So why does this Mark guy always end up wearing white shoes?" Jensen asks, steering the conversation back onto more important matters.

"Dunno," Gen says. "Could be a glitch. It makes him easy to recognize, especially if he's impersonating a woman."

"It's an edge," Jared says, nodding. "Hopefully we can use it."

Jensen groans, and Jared glances at him. "What's up?"

"I cannot believe we're sitting around a table planning how to take out a villain. I feel like I'm in a comic book or something."

"Would you feel more comfortable if we were in costumes?" Jared asks, and everyone at the table groans loudly in protest. "Ah, shut up. You're all just jealous you don't look as awesome in spandex as I do."

Everyone throws stuff at Jared—including things that could do him an injury, but he's pretty sure that's only because Jensen has mentioned to them that he has stupidly overpowered regenerative capabilities—and the conclave breaks up shortly after that.

"What do you think he's up to?" Jared asks, later that evening. He's back at his own apartment now; Chad had sent him a sad text message stating that he hadn't seen Jared for days, so Jared figured it was time to bring Jensen back to his place for a change.

"Dunno," Jensen replies. "And I don't really care right now." He rolls his eyes at Jared and gets back to the important task of biting Jared's neck, which finally manages to shut him up for a few minutes. But the idea of a possible Super-villain out there, stealing people's identities and committing crimes, is obviously weighing heavily on his mind, and it's not long before he's interrupting Jensen again.

"What if he's going to try to destroy the world?"

Jensen sits up, sighing. "Why would he do that? He has to live on it."

"Maybe he's insane."

"Maybe he just wants to rule it. Besides, there's not much we can do right now." Jensen pauses for a moment, waiting to see if the conversation is over, then gets back to what he was doing. Jared sighs and gives up, lets Jensen kiss him, and it doesn't take long before he's groaning, humping Jensen's leg, and desperate to fuck.

"Knew I'd be able to distract you," Jensen murmurs against Jared's lips. He's got Jared's cock in his hand and is stroking it slowly, gripping it hard and moving his wrist only the smallest amount. Jared thrusts his hips against Jensen, forcing his cock through the tight grip until he's panting and gasping.

"You're so easy," Jensen says, amused, and he rolls onto his back, pulling Jared with him. Jared grunts, forcing Jensen's legs apart so he can rub their cocks together as they kiss. Jensen's hands are all over Jared's back and ass, rubbing and squeezing, and even though Jensen's dying to have Jared push his legs over his shoulder and fuck him until he screams, he honestly doesn't know if he can stand Jared moving away from him enough to grab a condom.

"You love how easy I am," Jared mumbles. He jerks his hips harder, and Jensen shoves a hand between them, wrapping it as best he can around both their cocks. Jared's eyes roll back in his head and he groans.

"Hey," Jensen says tentatively. "Have you ever split clones off during sex?"

Jared looks down at Jensen and grins. "Like this?" he asks, and a few moments later, there are four more Jareds standing around the bed, all naked and aroused.

"Shit," Jensen mutters, his cock twitching. He's not sure how this is going to work, but just the prospect of five Jareds in bed with him is enough to make him groan.

"Just lie back and relax," one of the Jareds says, and before Jensen can complain, he's got one Jared kissing him while two lick and suck on his cock. He's not sure what the other two are doing, and when he glances to the side, he sees that they're making out _with each other_, jerking each other off and moaning softly as they do so.

It's unbelievably arousing, being surrounded by Jared, every part of his body being touched and stroked while he's being kissed and sucked off. He doesn't know how long he'll be able to hold on, so completely immersed in the sensation. Things around the room start rattling as his telekinesis sends out tendrils of force, and even the bed starts to shake as he nears climax. Jared swallows his cock down while another Jared licks and sucks his balls, and the two Jareds making out with each other stop working on each other and lean in to kiss and lick their way over Jensen's body.

"You want us to fuck you?" one of the Jareds says in a low growl. Jensen nods, still unsure how it's going to work, and he somehow ends up on his hands and knees, a Jared behind him pressing his cock into Jensen's body, and a Jared on his knees in front of him, forcing Jensen's mouth open to slip his cock inside. The other three surround them, stroking themselves, laying kisses all over Jensen's back as he gets fucked from both ends.

"Oh, fuck," Jensen hisses around his mouthful of cock. He feels dirty, exposed, and one of the Jareds kneeling around him reaches between his legs and starts jerking his cock as he's getting fucked. It's enough to push Jensen over the edge, and he groans loudly as his cock twitches and his hips thrust, coming all over the sheets under him. Jared doesn't let go, wringing every last drop of come out of him, and by the time it's over, he's panting and gasping.

"My turn," he hears from behind him, and one by one, the extra Jareds disappear until there are only two of them. They're thrusting in the same rhythm, in and out at the same speed, and just as Jensen's knees are starting to complain, Jared groans and he feels a warm spurt of come fill his ass. The Jared in front of him flickers out of existence, and then there's only one left, who proceeds to collapse on top of Jensen in an exhausted heap.

"Don't you get to come five times?" Jensen murmurs tiredly.

"You know how when one Jared is shaving, it affects all the Jareds? Same with orgasms."

"Wow. That kind of takes the fun out of it."

Jared shrugs. "Not really. I still get to feel really awesome in five different bodies. And it's usually pretty good for the other person."

"We'll have to try it again sometime, definitely," Jensen says, and yawns widely. "That was _intense_."

"Yeah," Jared says, and leans in to kiss Jensen good night.

[Part 2](http://annella.livejournal.com/1159533.html)


	2. End of the World, part 2

  
  
  
**Entry tags:** |  [fic](http://annella.livejournal.com/tag/fic)  
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_ **End of the World, part 2** _   
[Part One](http://annella.livejournal.com/1159178.html)

Jensen's woken up in the morning by the insistent ring of his cellphone. He fumbles around on the bed for a moment before he realizes he's not in his apartment, and nearly falls out of Jared's bed trying to grab his jeans off the floor and get his cell out of the pocket. He doesn't have time to glance at the caller ID before he answers it.

"What?" he says grumpily, flopping back into bed and into the embrace of the still-snoring Jared.

"Have you seen the news?" It's Aldis, and Jensen sits up, rubbing his eyes. He glances at the bedside table and is surprised to see that it's not even eight AM.

"No. Why?"

"You better go look at the news," Aldis says ominously. "I'll wait."

"Fine," Jensen sighs, putting the phone down on the bed and fumbling around on the floor to find his mini laptop in the pocket of his jacket. He flips it open and waits for it to wake up, then clicks on his favorite news site.

It's the top story, and Jensen picks up his cellphone as he reads it aloud. "Um, okay. Another robbery. You think it was our guy?" Aldis is silent, and Jensen reads on. "Okay, so he broke into a ridiculously secure government facility and stole some kind of old weapon. Described as male, early forties, six feet tall, short dark blond hair and freckles, green—shit, is that _me_?"

"Apparently he was seen leaping tall buildings, controlling things with his mind, and demonstrating incredible reflexes," Aldis says blandly. "Hope you have a really fucking good alibi for last night, 'cause I expect the cops will be showing up on your doorstep right about now."

"Thanks," Jensen sighs, and closes his phone. "Hey, Jared," he says, poking the snoring lump next to him. Apparently Jared can only maintain one body when he's sleeping, and the moment he drops off, any spare clones vanish.

"Hmm?" Jared rolls over and grins up at Jensen, his face creased from the pillow and his hair everywhere. Jensen can't help smiling back despite the disturbing news he just read.

"We gotta get up," Jensen says, tossing the covers back and searching for his underwear.

"What's going on?" Jared rubs his eyes and yawns widely. He hasn't made a move to get up yet, and Jensen's warm feelings of appreciation are rapidly being replaced with irritation.

"Mark," he says shortly. "He's targeted me, now. Broke into a weapons facility last night and stole something."

"Damn," Jared says softly, and finally makes a move to get up. They're barely dressed when there's a loud knock on the door, and before Jared can go to answer it, someone yells, "Police! Open up!"

"Coming!" Jared calls, and opens the door to find a large number of police armed with stun guns. Not that it would help; if Jensen really wanted to get away, he could do so very easily.

"Jensen Ross Ackles?" asks a guy in a suit.

"That's me."

"You need to come with us."

"Yeah, I figured," Jensen sighs. "Gimme a moment to put some shoes on, okay?"

"Go with him," the suit directs two of the squad members, and they follow Jensen into Jared's bedroom, where he finds his shoes and pulls on a jacket.

"You want me to come along?" Jared asks.

"Best not to," Jensen says. "They'll know where you are if they need you."

The policemen escorting Jensen to the station look nervous, and keep their weapons trained on him at all times. He can't blame them—the new Super division of the police force isn't up and running yet, mostly because they have yet to come up with a suitable deterrent to use against Supers who have committed crimes. It's been one of the major sticking points in the passing of the Super Powers Rights Act, and anti-Super advocates use the fact that many Supers cannot be restrained if they do something illegal to press for the mandatory registering of all Supers to keep closer tabs on them.

Jensen really hates the Anti-Super League of Protection.

Upon arrival at the precinct, Jensen's escorted into a small interview room, a cop armed with a stun gun at each elbow. He figures he'd best not make any sudden movements, because he's been hit with one of those things before, and they fucking _hurt_. Despite his powers, he can still take damage like an ordinary human, although like all Supers, he is able to heal a little more quickly. Nothing like Jared, though; Jared's regenerative powers are _insane_.

"I take it from your lack of questions that you know what this is about," the guy in the suit says as he comes in and sits down opposite Jensen.

"I'm assuming it's about the robbery last night, and the fact that the person who committed it looks like me," Jensen says.

The guy nods. "Okay. We gotta go through all this even though we're pretty sure it wasn't you." He points a remote at the small recording device in the roof and opens the folder in front of him. "Special Agent David Boreanaz, interviewing Jensen Ackles in connection to the theft from the building classified as D Block."

Jensen blinks. D Block—the name rings a bell, but he can't for the life of him remember why. He doesn't have time to think about it, though, because Boreanaz looks up at him.

"Mr. Ackles, you have Super powers. Is that correct?"

"Yes. And I'm pretty sure that what I can do is already written down in that file you have on me."

"It is," Boreanaz admits, "but we need it for the recording."

Jensen shrugs. "Telekinesis, fast reflexes, can leap tall buildings with a single bound."

"Thank you. And can you tell me what you were doing last night at around 8pm?"

Jensen cringes. "Um. I was in bed. With, uh. My boyfriend."

"And he can verify this?"

"Yeah. You could ask his roommate too; he saw me arrive with Jared."

"But is it not also true that you could have left via the window, committed the crime, and arrived back with Jared's roommate being none the wiser?"

"That's true. But—I don't think you think I did it."

Boreanaz sighs. "You're right, we don't. I don't know how much you're aware of, but there have been a lot of cases like this the past few weeks. We're not entirely sure what we're dealing with."

"I know of six, plus this one just last night," Jensen says. Boreanaz raises his eyebrows, looking surprised. "We Supers tend to talk to each other a lot," Jensen adds. "And two of my friends have already had this same thing happen to them."

Boreanaz closes the folder and leans forward on the table, his hands clasped together. "Is there anything you can tell me about what's going on?"

Jensen bites his lip, considering. He doesn't want to get the cops involved; whenever non-Super enforcement starts trying to bring a Super-villain to justice, it ends badly. On the other hand, he doesn't want Boreanaz to start treating him as a suspect.

"I have a few leads," he says carefully.

Boreanaz looks thoughtful, and after a moment, he points the remote at the ceiling again to stop the recording. "Are we looking at Syndrome-level Super-villainy here?" he asks.

"Huh?"

"Mr. Ackles, I'm specially trained to deal with Supers. Obviously not trained very well, because the only Super power I have is that people find it very hard to tell me a direct lie. But I'm currently all they have. I'm sure you know about the problems the police force has had in getting the Super division off the ground."

"Yeah," Jensen says. He hadn't realized Boreanaz was a Super himself; he feels a lot better talking to him about what's going on now, and he ends up telling him almost everything he'd discussed with his friends the previous day.

When he's done, Boreanaz sits back in his chair, a frown on his face. "So he can imitate anyone, but always ends up wearing white shoes. It's better than nothing, I guess. And no one knows what this Mark person actually looks like?"

"I'm hoping a friend of mine is going to be able to track him down further," Jensen says. "But in the meantime... I hate to tell you how to do your job, but this might be the sort of thing which can only be handled by other Supers."

"I know. And all I ask is that you try your best not to destroy the world, kill civilians, and most of all: for the love of _God_, don't create too much paperwork for me."

"'D Block'?" Aldis asks, flipping open his data pad to do a search. They're all at Jensen's apartment this time—there's much less chance that Mark is listening. Jensen has to admit that Aldis's inability to remember things has actually come in useful—an anal-retentive OCD guy without the ability to remember things tends to result in absolutely _everything_ being recorded and filed with absolute precision. "Hmm. Okay. Right. 'Secret government facility. Part of the Kripke Project.'" He taps the screen again. "'Kripke project. No one knows. Possible link: Kim Manners.' Right, let's see who that is... oh, wonderful. 'Kim Manners, director of Super Services, died 2026'." He tosses the data pad down and sighs. "Dead end, man. Sorry."

"Did you find anything else out about Mark?" Jared asks.

Aldis sighs. "Nope. Nothing. The guy's a goddamned ghost or something. But I did find out something interesting—he can only take on the form of someone who he's actually touched. Even a brush of a hand would be enough. Which means he's somewhere close by, and has probably been watching us all."

"Great," Jensen sighs.

"We gotta find out more about this Kripke Project," Danneel says abruptly. "If it's an old secret government facility, it's probably from when the Supers were forced to mask. It could be a weapon against us."

"Anyone got any government contacts?" Aldis asks.

They all look at each other, frowning. Then Gen speaks up. "What about Jeff?"

"Jeff?" Jared asks.

"Oh man, Jeff's old school," Aldis says. "Worked with Frozone and Mr. Incredible back in the day. Hell, he _trained_ them. If anyone's got contacts, he will."

"I'll give him a call," Jensen says. "I haven't talked to him for a while—I'm pretty sure he's retired, but hopefully he'll help out an old friend."

There's a shimmer in the air next to Jensen, and suddenly a man appears. He's older, with a salt-and-pepper beard and a wide smile.

"Speak of the devil," Aldis says, and laughs.

"What? Who's this?" Jared asks, confused. Everyone else looks amused.

"Jeff Morgan," the guy says, grinning at Jared. "And you... you're Hurricane. Thought you were dead, kid."

"Um, not anymore," Jared mumbles. He's never going to hear the end of that.

"I'd forgotten you could do that," Misha says, glaring at Jeff. He obviously doesn't like to be surprised.

"What did he do?" Jared demands. He's so confused.

"It's a trick," Jeff says, pulling up a chair. "I can sense where I'm needed at any given time, and teleport there."

"Wow," Jared says, impressed. That sounds awesome.

"It's actually a bit limiting," Jeff says. "I can't teleport wherever I want, _only_ to where I'm needed."

"Useful now, though," Jensen says.

"So, what's going on?" Jeff asks, pulling Jensen's folder towards him and having a flick through the pages. "Hmm, got another Super-villain?"

"We think so," Aldis says. "Name of Mark. Can take on the form of anyone he's had even the slightest contact with. Powers included, although they're weakened. We don't know much else about him."

"Echo," Jeff murmurs.

"Echo?"

"Mark's alias. I know him. He wasn't very active as a Super; probably a bit before your time, most of you." He spends a few minutes reading the news reports and listens to Jensen's summary of his conversation with Agent Boreanaz, then sighs.

"You know what it could all be about?" Jensen asks.

"I do," Jeff says, rubbing a hand over his face. He suddenly looks a lot older. "The Kripke Project... I'd hoped it had vanished completely from everyone's minds. I guess I was wrong."

"Is it—" Jared swallows. "Is it bad?"

"Pretty bad. It was from the height of the Super terror, right when public opinion against Supers was at its lowest, and right before the Supers were forced to take their masks off. The government... well, it did something kinda stupid."

Jared listens in shock as Jeff tells them of a government department spurred into action by the fear-mongering anti-Super groups, the bombs which were planted in areas with high numbers of Supers, and the plans to detonate if the Super problem started getting out of hand. The forced unmasking was by far the lesser of two evils—Jared can't quite believe the fear level was so high that there was a special government department which actually considered trying to take them out.

"Wouldn't civilian casualties have been through the roof?" Danneel asks, filling the shocked silence which follows Jeff's explanation.

"Yeah," Jeff replies, rubbing a hand over his face. "But you have to understand how terrified these people were. They weren't thinking straight. And this was all decided by a small group of politicians acting both within and independently of the Department of Defense. To them, civilian casualties were a small price to pay for potentially taking out a large number of Supers."

"How do you _know_ all this?" Aldis asks.

"Mr. Incredible knew about it. He was told about it after the Remasking Act, as a gesture of good faith on the part of the government. He talked to me about it later on."

"I'm sorry," Jared interrupts, "but I'm confused. Planting _bombs_ to take out Supers? In places where we're more concentrated? It's the stupidest idea ever, especially since so many of us have powers which let us avoid things like, y'know, explosions and stuff."

"I never said it was an intelligent plan," Jeff says. "I'm not sure of the details, but Mr. Incredible told me that this department had been experimenting with ways to take out Supers who couldn't be killed by normal means. Hell, it's not like we're unkillable—look at all the Supers taken out by Syndrome's robot. Catch us unawares and most of us are just as vulnerable as ordinary people."

"So let me get this straight," Danneel says. "There is a strategically-placed network of bombs around the country, and we don't know where or how many there are. Is that right?" Jeff nods, and she continues. "And somehow, a Super with a personality disorder has managed to find out how to set them off, but we don't know what he looks like or where to find him. But what I don't get it—what's in it for him?"

"He's a Super-villain," Misha points out. "Or, he _wants_ to be a Super-villain. He doesn't need a reason."

"And why the _hell_ wasn't all this shit dismantled sometime over the past twenty years?" Aldis demands.

"Trust," Jeff says bluntly. "They still don't trust us."

"Great," Jared mutters. "That again. I'm really fucking tired of people who I don't know judging me for something that I can't help."

"You can't really blame them," Jensen points out. "People are afraid of what they don't understand, and as far as I know, there _still_ isn't an explanation for how people develop Super powers. So of course people are going to fear us and judge us based on our powers."

He sounds annoyingly logical and reasonable, and Jared isn't in the mood for logic and reason right now. "So you're okay with all of this?" he asks, glaring at Jensen.

"No, of course not!" Jensen says angrily. "I'm seriously _not_ okay with a group of faceless people wanting to blow up all the Supers. But I'm just saying I can understand why people were scared. Hell, look at all the Super-villains that were taken out back in the old days. Any Super could become a villain, and that's what freaked everyone out so much."

"Sorry that I have trouble seeing the other side," Jared says sarcastically, "but not a week goes by without some parent or concerned citizen complaining to the school board about the dangers of hiring a Super." He knows he's being irrational, but he can't help it—Superphobia makes him _so mad_, and the fact that he has to deal with it in his daily life grates on him constantly. This is high-level Superphobia, endorsed by the government, and that just makes it so much worse.

"Hey, I know how you feel," Sophia says, putting a hand on Jared's arm. "I get it all the time too."

"Sorry," Jensen says, obviously taken aback. Jared immediately feels guilty for going off at him; how was Jensen to know how intensely Jared felt about the matter? He tries to catch Jensen's eye to mouth an apology, but Jensen refuses to look at him.

"So what was kept in D Block?" Misha asks, changing the subject after there's an awkward silence.

"Don't know," Jeff replies. "Something to do with the Kripke Project, but no clue what. I'm guessing it's a vital piece of the whole set-up."

"Great," Jensen sighs. "Another dead end."

"Not quite," Jeff disagrees. "I'll ask around. See if I can get hold of any old contacts. Gimme a couple of hours, okay?"

Everyone heads off after Jeff leaves, until it's just Jared and Jensen alone in the apartment. Jared shifts in his seat, obviously wanting to say something, but Jensen speaks up first.

"Hey, I'm sorry," Jensen says. "I didn't realize how much crap you've had to put up with."

"No, you were being rational," Jared says with a sigh. "It's just something that really gets me angry, and I kinda suck at listening to logic and reason when it comes to that particular topic of conversation."

"I guess you've got good reason for it," Jensen says quietly. Jared nods, and there's an uncomfortable silence. He leaves a few minutes later, giving Jensen a quick kiss and a mumbled excuse about having to do some work for school on Monday, and Jensen's alone in the apartment with his thoughts.

Jared had always been a bit hot-headed, but he's become bitter over the years. It's sometimes hard to mentally match the Jared he knows now with the one he used to know—for all their ease in being together, there's still a large gap between them which neither of them seems particularly keen to talk about.

He's about to settle down with a glass of beer—it's the weekend, after all, and he's had a stressful day so far—when his phone rings. He doesn't recognize the number, so he's a bit wary about picking it up considering recent events, and he lets it go to the machine.

"Hey, Ackles. It's Agent Boreanaz. Pick up if you're there. I mighta found some info on your guy. Hey, you there?" There's a pause. "Um, okay, you can call me back on—"

Jensen grabs the phone. "Hey, I'm here. What've you got?"

"Oh, good. Listen, I did some digging on some of the old Super groups from the pre-unmasking days, and I mighta found this Mark guy. What's your email address? I'll send it over."

Jensen reels it off, and once he's hung up, he immediately goes to his computer to wait for the data. It's there within seconds, and he opens up the file to find blurry images of a group of Supers from over twenty years ago. It looks like it was an attempt at a Super-villain Conclave, but according to the notes that accompany it, it was never considered a threat. Jensen chuckles when he reads the list of powers the group had: draining battery power, making pens run out, keeping traffic lights red for longer than usual, lowering the temperature of a room to just below comfortably warm, and the ability to make someone twitch. They're all such weak powers, such _annoying_ powers, and Jensen can almost understand why these people would get together to form a group. He can imagine how irritating it would be to get stuck with such a useless power when there are Supers running around with the ability to fly.

He wonders why Mark is a part of it—even though Mark's power isn't as amazing as it would be if he took on the full force of the Super's abilities, the ability to shapeshift is still one that would be much sought after by many Supers. The infiltration possibilities are endless. Jensen peers at the photographs of the group, taking particular note of the person which Boreanaz has labeled as Mark Pellegrino. He's a nondescript sort of guy—average height, light brown hair, and very few distinguishing features. No wonder no one's been able to place him; he has the sort of face you'd forget in a moment.

He flips his cellphone open and calls Aldis. "I got a picture," he says. "I'm sending it your way."

"Awesome," Aldis says. "I might actually find something useful!"

"Is the rest of the gang still with you?" Jensen asks.

"Yeah, we're at the bar." He clears his throat. "Figured you'd want some time alone with your boy."

"Yeah, thanks," Jensen sighs. "Look, I'm on my way. If you see something, we could get this thing over with before the end of the day."

"No pressure, then," Aldis says sarcastically before hanging up.

Jensen doesn't particularly feel like talking to Jared right now, so he sends him a text message telling him to head to the bar. By the time he gets there himself, Jared's already there, talking to Sophia and Gen, and Jensen feels an irrational flash of irritation that Jared gets along so well with his friends. He sighs inwardly; obviously, they're going to need to talk about this at some point.

"Please tell me you found something," Jensen says without preamble, pulling up a chair.

"Yeah," Aldis says, looking serious, "and you're not gonna like it. Neither of you are." He rubs a hand over his face.

"Spill it," Jensen growls. "I don't care what—"

"I saw Jared _die_," Aldis says bluntly.

"Aldis, I _can't_ die," Jared points out.

"No, man, you don't understand," Aldis says insistently, "you _died_. Several times, in fact. I saw you get blown up, melted, chopped into pieces, do I need to keep going?"

"God, no," Jensen manages, feeling sick. He looks at Jared, who has a frown on his face, but he doesn't say anything. "Did you see anything else?" Jensen asks Aldis.

"I saw where it's all gonna take place," Aldis says. "And I'm pretty sure it's going to be soon—tonight or tomorrow." He lists the address of an old warehouse on the south side of the city. "But I didn't see what exactly he's gonna do. It seemed to involve some kind of key, but I can't be sure."

"We need to know what he's going to do," Misha says. "Turning up there all guns blazing isn't gonna work if it turns out he's holding a detonator or something."

"I could read his mind," Danneel says. "Problem is, though... that won't give us much time to make a plan."

"I wonder if Jeff's come up with anything yet?" Jensen wonders.

"I have, actually," Jeff says, popping into existence three feet from Jensen's chair.

"Jesus, Jeff," Jensen blurts out. "Can't you cough or something before you do that?"

"Sadly, no," Jeff says. He glances around the bar, but being just after midday on a Sunday, it's pretty empty, with only a few regulars occupying the booths on the other side of the room.

"So what's going on?" Jared asks impatiently.

"That thing Mark stole from D Block? It's a detonator. It's used to set in motion a series of timed explosions all around the country. I couldn't find out where, but I did manage to talk an old enemy into telling me a little bit about the system." He grabs a notebook out of his jacket and pulls out a pen, flipping the notebook open and starting to sketch out a diagram. "All Mark has to do is put the detonator into the final slot, but once that detonator is in place and he's out of there, all these doors slam shut behind it and any attempts to get back in will set off an increasingly-powerful series of explosions. It culminates in a very tightly concentrated nuclear blast at the final door—enough to take out whoever is trying to get in, but not big enough to destroy much in the vicinity."

"So the other explosions are warnings," Jensen says.

"Exactly. It's designed to stop any Supers getting in once it's been set in motion."

"How do you get back through the doors once they're closed?" Jared asks. "And how many are there?"

"Opening the doors is easy, if you can be in several places at once," Jeff says. "But that means putting more people at risk. I gotta say, Jensen would be the best person to open the doors—you can press buttons from far away, and you got the best reflexes. But—"

"But I wouldn't survive the explosions," Jensen says quietly. He knows what the answer is, but doesn't want to say it.

It turns out he doesn't need to. "I have to do it," Jared says. "I'm the only one who can."

"No—what about Katie? She can teleport!"

"Only to a place she's been, or somewhere she can actually see. She can't appear inside a room she's never been in," Jeff says.

"I could—" Sophia begins, but Jeff shakes his head.

"The walls are lined with adamantium, lead, and diamond. You'd never get through."

"Whoa," Sophia says. "Yeah, that'd do it."

"But Jared—" Jensen starts.

"I can be in five places at once, Jensen," Jared says. "I can heal _anything_. It _has_ to be me."

"But Aldis saw you die!"

"I don't think I _can_ die. I always heal."

"But after you almost died, you told me—"

"I don't have a choice," Jared says firmly. "I _have_ to. We don't know what will happen if I don't!"

"He's right," Jeff says gently. "Jensen, son, you know he's right."

"But—"

"I'm a Super. I have a duty."

"No!" Jensen says angrily. "You don't get to just decide to _die_! Not when—" He stops abruptly.

"When what?" Jared asks softly.

"Not when I've finally found you again," Jensen whispers.

"Jensen—"

"Is the job so important to you? Is it more important than _me?_"

"No! But—"

"You're being selfish again," Jensen says doggedly. He knows that the words coming out of his mouth are senseless; if anyone's being selfish, it's _him_, but he can't stop himself. He can't lose Jared again just after finding him, he just _can't_.

"Jensen, stop it," Jeff says quietly, putting a hand over Jensen's on the table. Jensen whips around to look at him, and only then does he notice that his telekinesis has responded to his distress—all over the bar, glasses are hovering in the air, napkins are whirling around in an invisible wind, and the tables are rattling against the floor. The other patrons look terrified, and Jensen sits back, breathing hard.

"Please don't," he whispers, but Jared shakes his head and leaves before Jensen can stop him.

"Freak!" someone on the other side of the bar yells, and Jensen whirls around to face the man.

"He's _my_ freak," he growls, sending a glass flying at the man's head. He deliberately aims a foot to the left, and it crashes into the wall with a satisfying noise. The man shrieks and ducks, and Jensen storms out of the bar. Jared's nowhere to be seen.

Jared gets to the old warehouse just as the sun's starting to set. He's torn between being angry with Jensen and being even more in love with him than he was before, and he can't get his thoughts straight. He knows on a deeper level that going to potentially face a Super-villain in the making is not the best thing to do when his state of mind is so chaotic, but he needs to concentrate on something that isn't Jensen.

The warehouse is derelict, with graffiti-covered walls and trash all over the crumbling floor. Jared spends a few minutes exploring it, but doesn't find anything resembling a secret facility. He figures it's probably a very well-hidden entrance, and sighs, wishing Sophia and her x-ray vision was here.

"Who are you?" someone says, and Jared whips around to see an older man with grey-blond hair and a frown on his face. It's Mark, and Jared tries not to panic.

"I'm Jared," he says, hoping to put Mark at his ease.

"You're friends with Rattlesnake," Mark says slowly. "You're—you're _Hurricane_."

"Yeah, um. Yeah," Jared says, backing away so he's up against the wall behind him.

"You're not going to stop me." Mark suddenly changes—now he's Jensen, staring at Jared with a worried look on his face. "I'm too quick." He darts around Jared, and despite Jared's best efforts to catch him, he manages to leap onto the roof. "Can't jump up here!" he calls down, and turns around to find Jared behind him.

"Surprise," Jared says, grinning. Mark looks intrigued.

"You can clone yourself," he says in a detached tone of voice. "But judging from the fact that this version of you is wearing spandex, I'm guessing that you can't clone clothes, only yourself and your suit. Nice spandex, by the way. Is it comfortable to wear under your clothes?"

Jared's surprised at how quickly Mark catches on. "Yeah, it is," he says. "Now how about you and I get down from here before you do something stupid?"

"I'm not going to do something stupid," Mark explains, walking around Jared towards a trapdoor in the roof which Jared had only just noticed when Mark turned up. He turns to look back at Jared, and smiles. "Are you going to try to stop me?" he asks. His shape flickers briefly, and then Jared's looking at Sandy. Shit, he hasn't seen Sandy since she told him about Mr. Match a few weeks ago, and a jolt of fear goes through him.

"Did you—did you hurt her?" he asks, trying not to yell.

"Who, your ex-wife?" Mark laughs. It's unnatural; Sandy's laugh was silvery and beautiful, not this harsh, low cackle. "Nah. Not much, anyway." He flickers again, becoming Gen, and easily lifts the trapdoor open using her enhanced strength. "You haven't answered my question, Hurricane. Are you going to try to stop me?"

"Yeah," Jared says. "But I'd rather you stopped yourself."

Mark sits down next to the trapdoor. "Don't make me start monologuing," he says warningly. "I don't really have the patience for it, and it'll make me angry. Don't make me angry." He flickers again, more this time, and suddenly there's a small boy standing there. Jared recognizes him as Mr. Incredible's son, Jakjak, and takes a step backwards when he shifts into his devil-form, flames licking the concrete at his feet.

"Okay, okay," Jared says, raising his hands up. Mark nods and shifts back to his normal form.

"Let's get on with it, then," he says, and makes a move to enter the trapdoor.

"Wait!" Jared says, rushing forwards. "You—do you know what's going to happen when you do this?"

Mark shrugs. "Explosions, death, mayhem. I'm a Super-villain, Hurricane. I don't need reasons. If I have a reason, then I can be reasoned with."

"But Super-villains always have reasons!" Jared says, clutching at straws. He _has_ to try. "They're _meant_ to monologue. Otherwise you're just a crazy guy."

Mark sighs. "Fine. Okay. If it'll make you happy—I had a deprived childhood, blah blah blah. No one respected me, this'll make them take me seriously, the world will soon be mine! They all deserve it, etcetera etcetera. Is that enough?" Before Jared can answer, he flickers into Jensen's form again and vanishes down the trapdoor.

"Shit!" Jared yelps, rushing over to the trapdoor and peering down. There's a narrow flight of stairs, and Mark is nowhere to be seen. Jared climbs down while his other clone rushes to catch up, and when he gets to the bottom of the steps, he breaks off three more clones so they're all present. He looks at himself and nods, and they all spread out to explore the rabbit warren of tunnels below the warehouse.

Whoever built these tunnels knew what they were doing—there are miles and miles of dark, damp passageways in an absolute labyrinth. Even with all five of Jared's clones searching, it takes him almost an hour for one of them to finally find the place he's looking for. It's another fifteen minutes before he's able to get all his clones in the same place, and he merges into one Jared before he tries the large metal door in front of him.

"Wait," someone says, and Jared whirls around to see Jensen standing there. He glances down and sees that Jensen's wearing battered gym shoes; it can't be Mark.

"What are you doing here?" Jared asks.

"What do you think I'm doing here?" Jensen replies. "I'm not gonna let you take out the bad guy all by yourself."

"Don't want me to have all the glory, huh?" Jared says, chuckling.

"Exactly," Jensen says. He's smirking, and Jared's heart suddenly feels lighter. "So, where are we at with the Super-villain?"

"He's through here," Jared says. He tries the door and is surprised to find it unlocked. "Watch out," he warns Jensen, "it could be trapped."

He's right; as soon as the door clicks open, there's a great _whoosh_ and a gust of flame catches Jared right in the face. Even as he feels himself starting to sizzle, he sighs, drops to the ground, and rolls around until the flames have gone out.

"Holy shit," Jensen says, sounding shaken. Jared splits off a clone to take a look at himself and grimaces at the sight of his singed face. Fortunately, hair grows back as quickly as skin does when he's been injured, and it's only a few moments before a slight pinkish tinge to his skin is the only remaining sign of the fire.

Behind this door is another one, and from the looks of it, it's one of the specially-designed doors to keep people out once the detonator is in place. There are three different pressure points which look like they need to be pressed down at the same time in order for it to open, and Jared glances back at Jensen.

"I need you to stay back," he says softly. "If Mark's already activated the detonator... it'll explode. And you don't heal that quickly."

"Super fast reflexes, remember?" Jensen says, sounding frustrated. "I can avoid _anything_."

Jared's reluctant to give in, but he doesn't have much of a choice short of carrying Jensen out of here. Not like that would do any good—he'd just be back in a flash. "Okay," he says. "You take that one, we'll take these two." He positions himself next to two of the buttons, and just as he's about to say _now!_, there's a flicker in the air and Mark appears between them in the form of Katie.

"Oh, sorry," Mark says, "you're too late. Good luck getting through the doors without dying." He gives them a little wave, frowns, and teleports out of sight.

"Great," Jensen says. "Any idea how long we have before it blows?"

"None," Jared says, "so we'd better move quickly."

On the count of three, they press the buttons to release the first door. Even though Jared's prepared for the explosion, it still takes him off guard with its intensity. He screams as he's ripped open by it, and one of him goes down with a shaft of metal through his chest.

"Shit," he mutters, rolling around to put out the new burns and glaring at the crumpled shape on the floor. He'll heal that fine, but it'll take more time than he probably has. He looks over at Jensen and almost panics when he can't see him, but a moment later, Jensen pokes his head around the doorway. He's looking a little singed, but mostly uninjured, and Jared breathes a sigh of relief.

"See?" Jensen says.

"I'm down one," Jared says, going over to his clone and carefully pulling out the metal bar. He groans as he feels his heart start up again, and looks up at himself as his flesh starts to knit back together. "I'll try to get out of here," he says, looking at Jensen and the still-whole Jared. "Then there'll still be one of me, right?"

Jensen looks worried, but he nods, and Jared watches himself carefully move towards the exit. He hopes he can make it out in time.

"Ready for the next one?" Jensen asks, looking through the smoking remains of the first door. It looks just like the one they opened, but if Jeff's intelligence is right, the explosion is going to be worse. Jared splits off another clone and takes a deep breath.

He's right—the blast lifts him and his clone off their feet and throws them back through the remains of the first door. He's on fire again, but somehow neither of his bodies have been injured by the flying debris. He can't see Jensen anywhere, though, and he peers around frantically, knocking aside piles of rubble in an attempt to find him.

"Over—over here," he hears, and his heart sinks when he sees Jensen lying in a crumpled heap in the corner, covered in blood and soot.

"Shit, Jen, are you okay?" he gasps, rushing over to pull the shards of metal and concrete off him.

"Yeah," Jensen mutters, coughing. "That was a bit faster than I could move." He coughs again, a tearing cough, and Jared's horrified to see blood staining Jensen's mouth when he's finished.

"You have to go back," he says, tears in his eyes. "You have to." His first clone is almost completely healed now, and he starts back through the tunnels to where Jared and Jensen are. "C'mon, I'll help you out. There are still four of me, I can do this. Only three more doors, okay?"

Jensen nods, not even arguing, and when Jared returns, he carefully helps Jensen to his feet and puts a supportive arm around him.

"Let's do it," Jared mutters to himself. Only three more doors, and he's got three more clones.

The next two explosions are worse, and they're not just bombs—the first one them is trapped in such a way that the opening of it results in giant scythes slicing their way in a criss-cross pattern right through the room, and Jared's lucky he managed to leap out of the way and only lose one clone. He looks sadly down at the parts of his body strewn about the chamber, and spends a moment rearranging them so he can start the painful process of regenerating.

He grits his teeth and stares at the last door. It's just him and one other clone, now—the second last door had washed boiling oil through the room, and there's another sad pile of remains on the floor as a result.

The next few weeks are going to _suck_. Jared tries not to think about it, and looks at the final door.

It looks so innocuous, just a metal door with a pressure pad on either side of it. He looks at himself, takes a deep breath, and presses the buttons.

Jared's almost outside, and the gaping wound in his chest has almost healed up completely. Jensen's getting weaker, though, and they're both struggling by the time they finally get to the stairs leading up.

"C'mon," Jared whispers, his face full of pain. Jensen doesn't need to ask why—judging from the muffled explosions he can hear behind them, Jared's lost a few more of his clones, and each loss almost drives him to his knees.

Suddenly, they're hit by the blast radius of an explosion that rocks the building.

"What the—" Jensen starts, but Jared's face turns white and he collapses. "Jared!" Jensen yells, catching him and lowering him to the floor. He can barely stand himself, and doesn't know how he's going to get them both up the stairs and out of the building. "C'mon, Jared... we're so close. We're almost there. Stay with me, man." He pats Jared's face frantically, watches his eyelids flicker and open, and breathes a sigh of relief.

"Jensen—" Jared whispers. "Jen—I can't—"

"You can, c'mon," Jensen says, his heart tearing in two. He helps Jared to his feet, and in a series of fits and starts, they manage to get all the way up the stairs. Tears are running down Jared's pale face, and Jensen can feel slick, hot blood running down his own body as they collapse on top of the roof.

"It's almost over," Jared groans. "I—the nuke went off. Gotta close the trapdoor. It's designed to keep radiation inside." He rolls over and tries to stand, but is too weak, and when Jensen tries to close the trapdoor, he finds it too heavy.

"I can't," he sobs, wiping blood and sweat and tears from his face. "I need, we need help—"

There's a flicker in the air, and then Jeff's standing there. "Oh God," Jensen whimpers, and falls to his knees just as Jeff rushes over to catch him. "Gotta close trapdoor. Quick..."

Jeff nods, and easily pulls the lid shut using his enhanced strength. The sounds of further explosions and collapsing masonry die away, and Jensen cries with relief.

"Hey, Jared," he hears Jeff saying, off in the distance. "C'mon buddy—you gotta wake up. You're here, okay?"

"They're gone," Jared breathes. "They're all gone. They—I almost couldn't do it. I was—" he chokes back a sob, "—I was melting. But I did it."

"Are you going to be able to regenerate them?" Jeff asks, and Jared shakes his head. "I thought I might. But I think the radiation was too much." He closes his eyes in pain, and Jensen crawls over to take his hand. "I can't feel them anymore. I'm not down there."

"Is he going to be okay?" Jensen asks Jeff, a note of panic in his voice. Jared's passed out again, and Jeff picks him up gently and carries him towards the stairs leading off the roof. Jensen limps along behind them, still bleeding, and when they get to the edge of the roof, they come across a scene of massive destruction outside the warehouse.

Mark's in the center of a swirling vortex of debris, a look of panic clear on his face. He's surrounded by the biggest group of Supers Jensen has ever seen—not only are all his friends there, but he can also see Supers he's only ever heard of, and some he hasn't. They're definitely winning, but Mark keeps flickering through the various Supers whose shapes he's stolen over the years, and it's a close thing.

"Good thing he never got Jared's powers," Jeff murmurs. "Even with the limited use, it'd still be a close thing if he could regenerate."

Jensen almost doesn't care about Mark anymore. All he can think about is Jared's shallow breathing, his rapid heartbeat, his pale face. He doesn't notice when someone finally manages to take Mark out, because all his attention is focused on Jared. Jeff puts him down gently and goes to help clear up, and Jensen sits on the filthy ground cradling Jared's head in his lap and clutching his limp hands.

"It'll be okay," he says, over and over. "You'll be okay. I'll look after you. It'll be okay, Jared."

The last thing he remembers before he passes out is Jared's eyes opening and his fingers tightening around Jensen's.

When Jensen wakes up again, it's to white lights and muffled voices. He tries to lift his head, but groans when his entire body protests.

"Hey, stay still," someone says, and Jared's face comes into his line of sight. "You're pretty busted up."

Jensen nods slightly, even that small movement causing pain, and he clutches Jared's hand as tightly as he can. Someone puts a straw in his mouth so he can drink, and there's a small stab in his arm followed by a blessed release of pain.

"Morphine," Jared says, his mouth quirking in an amused half smile.

"Hospital?" Jensen asks. His throat is scratchy and rough, and he sips slowly at the water he's been given.

"Yeah," Jared says. "Broken ribs, concussion, cuts and bruises all over you, nasty gash across your chest and thigh... you'll be here a few days, man."

"I heal fast," Jensen says, relieved to now be able to move a little without too much pain. "How are you?"

Jared's face goes blank. "I'm okay. I—I can't make clones anymore. I don't know if I'll ever be able to again. But I'm not physically hurt."

"Thank God," Jensen whispers. The morphine is making him drowsy, and even though he wants to stay awake and talk to Jared, he quickly falls back into a drugged sleep.

In the end, it's only two days before Jensen's allowed to go home. He's healed up well, with only a few scars remaining from his ordeal. He's immensely grateful for his Super-induced healing powers—even though he can't do what Jared does, his recovery time is still far quicker than that of a normal human.

Jared comes with him, and even though Jensen knows they're going to have to talk about their relationship some day, for now he's just happy to have him there and alive. Anything else can be worked through—they're adults, and there's enough love between them that Jensen figures they can get past anything, including differences of opinion about the Superphobia.

The events with Mark were enough to convince the government department in charge of the Kripke Project to finally shut it down and dismantle all the bombs. Jensen starts seeing a lot of Agent Boreanaz on the news reports, advocating the development of the Super Division of the police force, and he's not surprised when Danneel signs up. Her ability to read minds combined with Boreanaz's ability to make people tell the truth ends up being an extremely useful part of the task force.

Several months after the events at the warehouse, the Super Powers Rights Act finally passes, and discrimination against Supers becomes illegal. There's still a lot of phobia around, but with the passing of the Act, it mostly stays confined to radical extremists.

"You ever think about going back to being a full-time Super?" Jensen asks Jared one night. They're unofficially living together now—all Jared's things are here, Chad's advertising for a new roommate, and Misha is now a permanent resident at Aldis's apartment.

"Nah," Jared says. "I like being able to teach as Jared. And it's nice not to get complaints from parents all the time. All I do now is make the weather nice when necessary. I'd kind of been neglecting my weather skills in favor of the duplication."

"Do you miss it?"

"Sometimes," Jared allows. "I sometimes forget that I can't split off a clone to go wash the dishes, but apart from that, it's fine."

Jensen knows better—he still sees sadness in Jared's eyes at the lost power, but he doesn't say anything.

It's almost six months later that Jensen goes into the bedroom to find Jared getting dressed. He smiles at him, but his smile freezes when he hears someone moving around in the bathroom.

"Who's in there?" he hisses. Jared seems awfully relaxed about there being a person in their ensuite bathroom.

"Me," Jared says, coming out of the bathroom. Jensen looks from one Jared to the other, and bursts out laughing. It doesn't last long before he's tackled to the bed by both Jareds, and he doesn't realize he's crying until one of the Jareds wipes a tear off his face and kisses him.


End file.
